By now, some recruits are burned out by the craziness of recruiting, while others view it as a chance to hone their skills—personal skills, that is.

Juwaan Williams is one of those types. The Georgia native is one of only 26 uncommitted recruits left in the Sporting News Top 125. At the next level, he could play wide receiver or either of the two positions in the secondary—and he’ll probably turn out to be an unofficial team spokesman, too.

Notre Dame and Oregon head up his list of favorites. Clemson and Vanderbilt are two he’s had his eye on in the past, while nearby Georgia Tech, Florida State, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Michigan State, Missouri and South Carolina are among his other offers.

While the Fighting Irish and Ducks are both undefeated and jockeying for position in the BCS standings, it isn’t just the record that has attracted Williams’ eye. In fact, his reasons for loving both schools are a bit off the radar screen of the typical recruit.

“When I went out to Oregon, the main thing that caught my eye is that it was just so peaceful out there,” Williams told Sporting News, recalling his official visit. “I was up at a spot where you could see the city lights and you could just hear a pin drop up there. I just kept thinking, ‘This is what the other side of the nation looks like.’”

And with Notre Dame, it wasn’t just Touchdown Jesus that impressed him.

“We took a car ride around campus and it only took like seven or eight minutes to go all the way around it,” Williams said. “Everybody seemed like they knew each other. My host told me how the dorms are, how you don’t just stay with the players, you stay with everybody. It hit me that I wouldn’t be isolated from the rest of the students—that I wouldn’t just be a football player. I liked that.”

One of the toughest things about being a recruit in Georgia is the SEC talk. Williams has SEC offers, even though Georgia isn’t one of them. He’s heard it a million times—why would you even consider leaving the South when you can play in the SEC?

“I get that almost every day,” the Tucker High School prospect native said. “People ask me why not Georgia, or Ole Miss, or Mississippi State or Vandy. I just tell them I’ve lived in the Southeast my whole life, and I just want to venture out and do something different. I get bored doing the same things year after year, and a new place like Oregon or Notre Dame, well I’ve never done that before. I think I want to try that.”

Williams’ decision won’t come on national signing day. He said that in January, after an official visit to Vanderbilt, he’ll likely make his choice. He just wants a chance to check out everything.

One thing is for sure, nobody is rushing him into anything. He doesn’t despise the process, and instead has sort of flipped it into a positive. He looks at working with the coaches and the media as a test for the future, not something to avoid, and he plans to pass down the knowledge to younger teammates who may be going through it as early as next year.

“When you look on the field at practice and see all the players around you, most of these guys would kill for the shot I’m getting,” Williams said. “I shouldn’t badmouth the situation I’m in, just because I constantly have to talk about it every day.”